Nick Castellanos played every game for the Philadelphia Phillies last year. He lived up to the $20 million paycheck he received for the 2024 season and aims to continue doing so. He's on a five-year, $100 million contract, which he signed in 2022 with the Phillies.
During a discussion with Chris Rose on the dynamic surrounding Phillies fans, Castellanos was all for sustaining the occasional boos in Citizens Bank Park, as he's getting paid up and also because he wants his son to be able to look up to him as a role model.
"If you ask me about Philly—like the ball of energy that is the city of Philadelphia—I'm just going to put that to the side because it's not really in my control," Castellanos said (27:20 onwards). "It's going to do what it does, right? But the way I simplify it, you know, John Middleton is paying me a lot of money to play baseball, so I owe it to him to go about my business the best way I can and to be on the field to earn my paychecks.
"Obviously, I'm going to have good games, and I'm going to have bad games, but I want to take it as seriously as possible because, obviously, I care about the game. I respect my craft. I want to represent the last name on the back of my jersey well, and above all, I want to be a role model for Liam."
For what it's worth, in 2024, Nick Castellanos had a good year at the plate, hitting .254 along with 23 home runs and 86 RBIs.
Nick Castellanos' pitch for prospective free agent looking to join Phillies in hypothetical scenario
Nick Castellanos does seem like he isn't convinced that the Phillies have the best fanbase. He cited the game against the Chicago Cubs where the club rested key players, as it was a dead rubber game for them. The Phillies ended up losing by eight runs, receiving wild boos from fans.
So when Chris Rose asked him what he would tell a prospective free agent looking to decide someplace between the Phillies, Padres and the Rangers in a hypothetical scenario, Castellanos said:
"As far as the city, if you asked me about it, I'd say, 'Listen, you're just going to have to understand where you're playing.' Last year, we won the division, then we rested all of our guys, and we lost to the Cubs by eight runs. We were booed off the field even though we were already heading into a playoff berth," Castellanos said (32:31 onwards).
"So, I mean, if you can push aside the need to be loved by people you don't know, you're going to be fine. If you're somebody who really wants that love and adoration from a large group of people, you're probably going to struggle."
However, Castellanos pointed out they have a good front office with Dave Dombrowski leading it and owner John Middleton wanting to win.